King-Parrots (Alisterus
scapularis) are common in East Gippsland and often visit our garden. Recently they
have been feeding on the seeds of local Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa) and the fruits of non-local White Cedar trees (Melia azedarach).
Bursaria spinosa is of high value
for wildlife as it provides habitat for birds and is a nectar source for
butterflies and other insects. Further, as an understory bush it helps provide
ecosystem stability in dry forest and woodland by hosting and sustaining wasps
etc. that in turn keep in balance the insect larvae that skeletonise eucalypt
leaves.
Melia azedarach, commonly known by many names, including White Cedar,
is a deciduous tree in the mahogany family and is native to Indomalaya and
Australasia. The fruits are poisonous to humans however the toxins are not
harmful to birds. We planted some in our garden for their summer shade and fire
resistance capacity. Being deciduous, frost is not an issue and they allow
winter sun to penetrate.
In the wild King-Parrots are wary and fly a long distance if disturbed,
however they can be very tame around parks and gardens. The ones in our garden are
moderately confiding if approached quietly.
For the camera nerds - the following four photos were taken hand held using
600mm focal length in very low light at about 5.30pm with a fully overcast sky.
I used ISO2000 and 1600 with f/5.6 aperture and 0ev giving shutter speeds of
1/40 to 1/160. You can achieve sharp images hand held with these settings when
the subject is close.
Male King-Parrot feeding on Bursaria spinosa seeds.
|
As the male fed he looked at me from time to time to make sure I was not a threat.
|
A female King-Parrot was feeding close to two males. |
The female also kept an eye on me as she fed. |
The Bursaria seeds are soft, moist and green like a fresh pea – not dry and
hard.
The following two photos were taken on another day of a male and
female King-Parrot feeding on the fruits of one of the White Cedars.
Female King-Parrot feeding on the fruits of White Cedar. |
They were eating the seed and discarding the outer fruity shell. |
The male enjoying White Cedar seeds. |
The King-Parrots have been attracted to our garden by planted local
native shrubs and tropical trees native to northern Australia.
Notes regarding Australian parrots:
Note 1
I thought it was worth quoting the first two sentences of the
Introduction to Australian Parrots (2nd Ed), Forshaw and Cooper, “Australia has been termed Terra Psittacorum –
the Land of Parrots! Approximately one-sixth of the world’s species occur here
and no other country has such a richness and diversity of forms”. How lucky
we are!
The King-Parrot features on the back of the dust cover of the 2nd
edition - illustrated with the late William Cooper’s magnificent paintings.
Note 2
Origin of the name King-Parrot
The species was originally called King’s Parrot for Governor Philip
Gidley King. Later the ‘s was deleted from the name and
later still RAOU introduced the hyphen, giving the current name King-Parrot (source
- Australian Bird Names, Fraser and Gray).
No comments:
Post a Comment